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Toad Lake man injured in tractor mishap

A Toad Lake man was seriously injured last Thursday afternoon after being run over by a tractor in the Toad Lake area.

Michael Leroy Horstmann, 57, was taken by air ambulance to Innovis Hospital in Fargo. No condition report was available Friday afternoon.

The accident happened while Horstmann and his son, Lee Michael Horstmann, 30, were trying to jump-start a John Deere 4630 tractor with a pickup truck and jumper cables. They were in a field northwest of 165th Street.

The pickup was parked on the left side of the tractor, facing it, and both men were standing in front of the large dual rear wheels.

The tractor started and jumped forward, knocking Michael to the ground and coming to rest on the top of his head and upper torso area, stalling when it hit the pickup truck. Lee was able to get out of the way and suffered just minor scrapes.

He pulled the tractor off Michael with the pickup truck, while another man, John James Cavanagh, went to the farmhouse and phoned for help.

Rescue workers from Wolf Lake Fire, Wolf Lake Rescue, North Memorial Ambulance, North Memorial Air Ambulance. Perham Ambulance, the Frazee Police Department and the Becker County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene, where first-aid was provided until the victim was airlifted to Fargo.